Hezbollah is everywhere there are Shia.
.
Islamic Movements in Azerbaijan
Anar Valiyev* The fall of the Soviet Union and collapse of communist ideology have profoundly influenced Azerbaijani society. Over themesbar.org
However, they're very weak and the Sunni Islamists are more powerful there.
The failure of Shi’ite Islamism as an overt political force engendered a tendency, on the part of Iranian agents, to focus on clandestine radicalization and radical activism. By early 1997, newspapers reported that hundreds of young Azerbaijanis had been trained in Iranian Hezbollah camps. After their graduation, they were either sent back home to spread Hezbollah’s ideas or offered the choice to fight in Lebanon against the Israeli Defense Forces. Meanwhile, a council of 15 influential Azerbaijani religious figures is said to have organized the activities of the cells, whose responsibilities include forming an “army of God” to operate in Azerbaijan. In February 1997, a famous Azerbaijani scholar, Ziya Bunyatov, was assassinated in Baku — allegedly by Hezbollah , which had accused him of being an agent of the Israeli Mossad and of spreading Zionism in Azerbaijan. Five were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms. The death of the scholar prompted a full-scale assault on all Iranian-affiliated organizations. In the fall of 2001, the Ministry of National Security (MNS) arrested six citizens in possession of documents proving their connection with Hezbollah. Additionally, a network consisting of 30 people was revealed. During the interrogations, members of Hezbollah bluntly rejected the secular government of Azerbaijan. Within a few months, MNS had crushed most of the cells of Hezbollah in the country. The last serious attempt of pro-Iranian forces to gain ground in Azerbaijan was in 2006. This time the radical organization, called the Northern Army of the Mahdi, was formed to fight the United States and Israel, and to create a separate Sharia-ruled country. A group of 17 people headed by Said Dadashbeyli allegedly maintained secret contact with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp. One of the leaders of the organization met with a member of the IRGC in the Iranian city of Qom, where he was allegedly offered financial support. Meanwhile, other members of the Northern Army received military training in Iran.[6] Members of the group have been sentenced to terms in jail. Repeated attempts by the IRGC to establish a network of radical groups in the country speak to the importance of Azerbaijan in the eyes of its southern neighbor.
Independent Shi’a Islamist movements do not exist in Azerbaijan. While there is occasional religiously-infused protest, it is generally more spontaneous in nature. One example was the case of the Danish cartoons controversyy. On February 9, 2006, about 1,000 young people took to the center of Baku to chant religious slogans, then marched toward the French embassy to submit a note expressing their grievances about the re-publication of offensive cartoons by French media. The next day, residents of Nardaran, a Baku suburb, set fire to the Danish flag and demanded a boycott of Danish products in response to the cartoons. That same day, a crowd of 100 young demonstrators with banners, shouting slogans in Arabic, had occupied Fuzuli Square in downtown Baku before being dispersed by the police.[7]
Another controversy arose from an article by Azerbaijani journalist Rafig Tagi in the newspaper Senet, titled “Europe and Us.” The article argued that Islam has not brought positive contributions or progress to the world. The argument divided Azerbaijani society. Immediately after publication, rallies and protests were organized in some Shi’a majority villages. During the rallies, protesters called for the murder of Tagi. Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani of Iran issued a fatwa calling for the deaths of Rafig Tagi and Samir Sadaqatoglu, the editor of the newspaper.
On the whole, however, the secular fabric of Azerbaijani politics and culture as well as the subordination of clergy to the state have together prevented the radicalization of Shias, and enabled a peaceful, traditional form of “popular Islam” to survive.
However, it may be possible for Shi’ite Islamists to exploit popular grievances, which range from economic and political disenfranchisement to policies over the wearing of hijab in schools and public institutions. A petition recently launched in defense of the hijab, which gathered tens of thousands of signatures, does not necessarily indicate the growing influence of Islamism in the country — but does point to the emergence of a disaffected stratum of the society.
wrong again PIC----Hezbollah is a very destructive force-----those clowns may not WIN--the war--because the Shia constitute only a 10% minority of muslims-----but they CAN win the BLOODIEST BATTLES.
Nah. they piss off a critical mass of enough people, they're toast in Azybablyjan, and Russia is a very fickle ally; just ask all their previous 'allies'.
what's the "NAH" for?----you all but quoted me
Hezbollah is everywhere there are Shia.
.Islamic Movements in Azerbaijan
Anar Valiyev* The fall of the Soviet Union and collapse of communist ideology have profoundly influenced Azerbaijani society. Over the
However, they're very weak and the Sunni Islamists are more powerful there.
The failure of Shi’ite Islamism as an overt political force engendered a tendency, on the part of Iranian agents, to focus on clandestine radicalization and radical activism. By early 1997, newspapers reported that hundreds of young Azerbaijanis had been trained in Iranian Hezbollah camps. After their graduation, they were either sent back home to spread Hezbollah’s ideas or offered the choice to fight in Lebanon against the Israeli Defense Forces. Meanwhile, a council of 15 influential Azerbaijani religious figures is said to have organized the activities of the cells, whose responsibilities include forming an “army of God” to operate in Azerbaijan. In February 1997, a famous Azerbaijani scholar, Ziya Bunyatov, was assassinated in Baku — allegedly by Hezbollah , which had accused him of being an agent of the Israeli Mossad and of spreading Zionism in Azerbaijan. Five were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms. The death of the scholar prompted a full-scale assault on all Iranian-affiliated organizations. In the fall of 2001, the Ministry of National Security (MNS) arrested six citizens in possession of documents proving their connection with Hezbollah. Additionally, a network consisting of 30 people was revealed. During the interrogations, members of Hezbollah bluntly rejected the secular government of Azerbaijan. Within a few months, MNS had crushed most of the cells of Hezbollah in the country. The last serious attempt of pro-Iranian forces to gain ground in Azerbaijan was in 2006. This time the radical organization, called the Northern Army of the Mahdi, was formed to fight the United States and Israel, and to create a separate Sharia-ruled country. A group of 17 people headed by Said Dadashbeyli allegedly maintained secret contact with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp. One of the leaders of the organization met with a member of the IRGC in the Iranian city of Qom, where he was allegedly offered financial support. Meanwhile, other members of the Northern Army received military training in Iran.[6] Members of the group have been sentenced to terms in jail. Repeated attempts by the IRGC to establish a network of radical groups in the country speak to the importance of Azerbaijan in the eyes of its southern neighbor.
Independent Shi’a Islamist movements do not exist in Azerbaijan. While there is occasional religiously-infused protest, it is generally more spontaneous in nature. One example was the case of the Danish cartoons controversyy. On February 9, 2006, about 1,000 young people took to the center of Baku to chant religious slogans, then marched toward the French embassy to submit a note expressing their grievances about the re-publication of offensive cartoons by French media. The next day, residents of Nardaran, a Baku suburb, set fire to the Danish flag and demanded a boycott of Danish products in response to the cartoons. That same day, a crowd of 100 young demonstrators with banners, shouting slogans in Arabic, had occupied Fuzuli Square in downtown Baku before being dispersed by the police.[7]
Another controversy arose from an article by Azerbaijani journalist Rafig Tagi in the newspaper Senet, titled “Europe and Us.” The article argued that Islam has not brought positive contributions or progress to the world. The argument divided Azerbaijani society. Immediately after publication, rallies and protests were organized in some Shi’a majority villages. During the rallies, protesters called for the murder of Tagi. Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani of Iran issued a fatwa calling for the deaths of Rafig Tagi and Samir Sadaqatoglu, the editor of the newspaper.
On the whole, however, the secular fabric of Azerbaijani politics and culture as well as the subordination of clergy to the state have together prevented the radicalization of Shias, and enabled a peaceful, traditional form of “popular Islam” to survive.
However, it may be possible for Shi’ite Islamists to exploit popular grievances, which range from economic and political disenfranchisement to policies over the wearing of hijab in schools and public institutions. A petition recently launched in defense of the hijab, which gathered tens of thousands of signatures, does not necessarily indicate the growing influence of Islamism in the country — but does point to the emergence of a disaffected stratum of the society.
wrong again PIC----Hezbollah is a very destructive force-----those clowns may not WIN--the war--because the Shia constitute only a 10% minority of muslims-----but they CAN win the BLOODIEST BATTLES.
Nah. they piss off a critical mass of enough people, they're toast in Azybablyjan, and Russia is a very fickle ally; just ask all their previous 'allies'.
what's the "NAH" for?----you all but quoted me
They're just little ankle biters in azholebabbly, not 'big giant threats'.
And what will be great in that? To kill tens of thousands of civilians and then give the power to former militants, buying their loyalty with huge sums of money?
I know everyone. i am God
